NW Total is based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and was founded in 1994. The business designs and manufactures bespoke process equipment packages and provides on-site technical support, installation and condition monitoring services, across the nuclear defence, nuclear power generation and decommissioning, utilities, pharmaceuticals, and energy sectors.
NW Total is said to have built a reputation for excellence and developed long-term working partnerships over 25 years with both end customers and key tier one operators.
The acquisition adds a specialist engineering solutions provider to the Group’s engineering division, under the leadership of the divisional MD, and will bring a range of benefits and synergies including:
• Enhancing the Group’s capabilities, in particular across nuclear markets;
• Adding specialist services, including condition monitoring;
• On-site technical competencies and highly skilled personnel;
• Enabling opportunities to partner with existing Carr’s Engineering businesses, such as in the manufacture and supply of complex pressure vessels, heat exchangers and fluidics technologies together with the provision of design and project management services; and
• Bringing further long-standing trusted relationships with key tier 1 operators and their end customers.
NW Total will also benefit from being part of a larger group with access to increased manufacturing capacity alongside greater financial and technical resources. The Group’s wider Engineering division serves a global customer base from its facilities across the UK, Germany and the USA. The services and capabilities of NW Total will sit alongside the Group’s existing offering of specialist technologies, products and services such as the design and manufacture of bespoke equipment, the supply of remote handling equipment, patented nuclear technologies, radiation protection, natural convection and decontamination.
The former owners of NW Total will remain with the business post acquisition to drive future growth. NW Total has been acquired for an initial cash consideration of £6.0 million, with further contingent cash consideration of up to a maximum of £3.6 million payable over the next three years, based on the achievement of agreed financial targets. The Group will use an additional term loan facility of £6.0 million to fund the initial consideration, with the contingent consideration being self-financed.
Graham Hartley, MD of the Engineering Division, comments: “NW Total is a business we’ve admired for a long time given its reputation for providing industry leading engineering services to key tier one operators within the nuclear sector and adjacent markets. NW Total’s capabilities across a number of complex industries will be a great addition as our Engineering division seeks to capitalise on the burgeoning opportunities in the nuclear sector.
“We envisage multiple synergies with several of our other Engineering businesses with whom we can align on larger projects using the Group’s broad capabilities. Ian and Mark are first-class operators who we have no doubt will fit seamlessly into the rest of the Carr’s Engineering division. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the whole NW Total team and look forward to the business fulfilling its potential under Carr’s Group ownership.”